Seattle 2012
Honor Choir information
Stacy (Winn) Brown, General Chair
Further information about our 2012 Northwest Divisional Conference Honor Choirs
Children's Honor Choir
Grades 5-7 (unchanged voices)
Conductor: Christy Elsner, Allegro Community Children's Choir, Kansas City, MO
Organizing Chair: Marcia Patton
Christy Elsner
A native Kansan, Christy Elsner is the founder and Artistic Director of Allegro
Children’s Choir. She is an active clinician for children’s, youth, and treble choirs
and enjoys giving workshops on innovative rehearsing and unusual teaching
tools. Under her direction, Allegro has blossomed from one choir of 38 to 4
choirs with over 180 singers. The Allegro Choirs are frequent guests of the
Kansas City Symphony and have performed by invitation for state, regional, and
national conventions. Allegro has toured extensively locally, nationally and
abroad with a tour to Italy in 2011. In 2012, she will conduct the NWACDA,
Wyoming All-State, and Missouri All-State Children’s Honor Choirs. In 2011, she
shared her choral passion with honor choirs in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri,
Mississippi, and Louisiana. She is the 2010 recipient of the Kindest-Kansas
Citian and the 2008 recipient of the MENC Outstanding Middle Level Educator.
She is the current SWACDA Children’s and Community Youth R&S Chair. She is
a past receipient of the KCDA Outstanding Young Conductor Award. She
received her music education degree from the University of Kansas and received
the Marcus E. Hahn Award for Outstanding Senior in Music Education.
Professional memberships include MENC, Chorister’s Guild, Chorus America,
and ACDA. Christy and her husband, Sean, stay busy with their three children:
Chandler, Chase, and Carlee.
Children's Choir Repertoire for the Seattle conference Honor Choir:
1. Jerusalem – Charles HH Parry,
Unison and piano,
Gordon Thompson (VG 196)
2. Domine Deus – Vivaldi, ed. Galvan,
Unison, piano and oboe,
Roger Dean (15/1857R)
3. Adventures of Isabel – Andrea Ramsey,
2 part, piano, oboe and bassoon,
Hal Leonard (08748313)
4. Beneath the African Sky – Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory,
2 part, piano and oboe,
www.caldwellandivory.com
5. Juego a que me quemo – Traditional Colombian arr. Julian Gomez Giraldo,
SSA, piano and Latin percussion
Hal Leonard (08748313)
6. Peace on Earth…and Lots of Little Crickets – Paul Carey,
2 part, piano and percussion,
Walton (HL08501658/WLG129)
7. Glory to Thee My God This Night – Thomas Tallis, arr. Kenneth Brown,
2 part with 4 part round, descant and piano,
Oxford (81.165)
Youth Honor Choir
Grades 7-9 (mixed voices)
Conductor: Rollo Dilworth, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
Organizing Chair: Carrie Rice
Rollo Dilworth is Associate Professor of Choral Music Education at
Temple University’s Boyer School of Music in Philadelphia, PA. In addition
to teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in choral music
education, he serves as conductor for the University Chorale. Prior to his
appointment at Temple, Dilworth served as Director of Choral Activities
and Music Education at North Park University in Chicago, IL for 13
years. Dr. Dilworth holds degrees from Case Western Reserve University,
University of Missouri-St. Louis, and Northwestern University. Dilworth has
written and/or arranged over 150 choral works that are currently in
print. His choral compositions are a part of the Henry Leck Creating
Artistry Choral Series with Hal Leonard Corporation and Colla Voce Music
Company. He has recently published pieces with the Santa Barbara Music
Publishing Company as part of the Mary Alice Stollak Choral
Series. Dilworth is a contributing author for the Essential Elements for
Choir and the Experiencing Choral Music textbook series, both published
by the Hal Leonard Corporation/Glencoe/McGraw-Hill Publications, and
for Music Express!Teachers Magazine. He authored a book of choral
warm-ups for elementary and secondary choral ensembles entitled Choir
Builders: Fundamental Vocal Techniques for General and Classroom Use.
Dilworth has co-authored another choral warm-up book entitled Choir
Builders for Growing Voices. He frequently serves as a guest conductor
and/or clinician for honors, festival and all-state choirs throughout the
United States and abroad. Dilworth is an active member of the Music
Educators National Conference (MENC), the National Association of Negro
Musicians (NANM), the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA),
and Chorus America. He is a member of the American Society of
Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), and currently serves on the
Pennsylvania ACDA State board as Director of Student and Youth
Activities.
Youth Honor Choir repertoire for the Seattle conference:
1. Achieved is the Glorious Work (from “Creation) – Joseph Haydn,
SATB and piano,
G. Schirmer (HL 50293670)
2. Hine ma tov – arr. Neil Ginsberg,
SATB, piano and flute,
Santa Barbara (SBMP 286)
3. Shenandoah – arr. Rollo Dilworth,
SATB, piano, flute and string bass,
Hal Leonard (HL 08751792)
4. Sail Away, Ladies – arr. Judy Herrington,
SATB divisi acapella,
Pavane (P1417)
5. How Can I Keep From Singing? – arr. Gwyneth Walker,
SA(T)B and piano,
E.C. Schirmer #5100
6. Hope is the Thing with Feathers – Kenney Potter,
SATB acapella,
Santa Barbara (SBMP 1017)
7. Hand in Hand – Rollo Dilworth,
SATB, piano, flute, string bass, drum set,
Hal Leonard (HL 08711542)
Men's Honor Choir
Grades 10-12
Conductor: André Thomas, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
Organizing Chair: Max Mendez
ANDRÉ J. THOMAS, the Owen F. Sellers Professor of Music, is
Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Choral Music
Education at Florida State University. A previous faculty member at
the University of Texas, Austin, Dr. Thomas received his degrees
from Friends University (B.A.), Northwestern University (M. M.), and
the University of Illinois (D.M.A). He is in demand as a choral
adjudicator, clinician, and director of Honor/All-State Choirs
throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, New Zealand, and
Australia.
Dr. Thomas has conducted choirs at the state, division, and national
conventions of the Music Educators National Conference (MENC)
and American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). His
international conducting credits are extensive. They include
conductor/clinician for the International Federation of Choral
Musicians, summer residency of the World Youth Choir in the
Republic of China and the Philippines, winter residency of the World
Youth Choir in Europe, and a premier performance by an American
choir (Florida State University Singers) in Vietnam. He has been the
guest conductor of such distinguished orchestras and choirs as the
Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in England, guest Conductor for
the Berlin Radio Choir in Germany, the Netherlands Radio Choir, the
Charlotte Symphony, Tallahassee Symphony, China’s People’s
Liberation Orchestra and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra.
Since 1988, he has also served as Artistic Director of the
Tallahassee Community Chorus.
Thomas has also distinguished himself as a composer/arranger.
Hinshaw Music Company, Mark Foster Music Company, Fitzsimons
Music Company, Lawson Gould, Earthsongs, Choristers Guild, and
Heritage Music Company publish his compositions and
arrangements.
Dr. Thomas has produced two instructional videos "What They See
Is What You Get" on choral conducting, with Rodney Eichenberger,
and "Body, Mind, Spirit, Voice" on adolescent voices, with Anton
Armstrong. His recent book "Way Over in Beulah Lan’.
Understanding and Performing the Negro Spiritual" has quickly
become a major source in this area of study. The African Diaspora
Sacred Music honored Dr. Thomas as a Living Legend.
In 2011, Thomas’ dedication to and accomplishments in the choral
arts were recognized by his peers in Chorus America, when that
organization presented Dr. Thomas with its Distinguished Service
Award.
He is a past president of the Florida ACDA, and the past president
of the Southern Division of ACDA.
Men's Honor Choir repertoire for the Seattle conference:
1. Gloria Fanfare – Jeffery Ames,
TTBB, keyboard and 2 trumpets,
Walton Music (HL08501767)
2. Ave Maria – Franz Biebl,
Trio/TTBB acapella,
Hinshaw Music
3. Confirma hoc, Deus – Jacob Handl, ed. James Rodde,
TTBB,
Alliance Music (AMP0396)
4. Somagwaza – Tucker Biddlecombe,
TTBB, djembe and shaker,
Hinshaw Music Premier*
5. Rainbow Round My Shoulder – arr. Robert DeCormier,
TTBB and Percussion,
Lawson Gould (LG51757)
6. Until I Found the Lord – arr. Andre Thomas,
TTBB, piano, bass, and trapset,
Heritage Music Premier*
Women's Honor Choir
Grades 10-12
Conductor: Giselle Wyers, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Organizing Chair: Amy Fuller
GISELLE WYERS is Assistant Professor of Choral Studies and Voice at the University of
Washington, where she conducts the University Chorale and teaches courses in
choral conducting and voice. University Chorale's 2008 performance of the Genesis
Suite with Seattle Symphony was termed "brilliant" by the Seattle Times. In 2011,
University Chorale performed at the NW Regional Conference of MENC. UW Chorale
has also sung for the President of Latvia and the Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, and
has toured to Estonia, Finland and Latvia. Their first CD recording, Climb, is now
available for purchase.
As a guest conductor, Wyers has led high school honor choirs in New York (Alice
Tully Hall, Lincoln Center), Idaho, Connecticut, Alaska, and Vancouver, Canada. Wyers
will serve as the conductor of the NW Regional Women’s Honor Choir for ACDA in
March 2012, as well as founding a new professional group, the Solaris Vocal Ensemble.
In 2011, she guest conducted community and professional ensembles in Seattle, Boston,
Montana and Germany, including a performance with the award-winning Chamber Choir
of Europe.
Wyers is a leading national figure in the application of Laban movement theory for
conductors. For five years she has team‐taught summer choral conducting
courses with James Jordan at Westminster Choir College, and she has contributed
chapters to two texts with Jordan related to Laban movement, both published by GIA
Publications.
As a composer, Wyers has a number of works available through Santa Barbara
Music Publishing Company as part of the "Giselle Wyers Choral Series." Her works have
been performed in South America, across Europe, Canada and the United States. Her
work "The Waking" was recorded by Choral Arts Ensemble on the
Gothic Records label.
Wyers' dedication to exposing audiences to the music of contemporary American
composers has led to publications in various national journals. She is especially
interested in exploring how modern composers use music as a form of peacemaking
and social justice. "Waging Peace through Intercultural Art in Kyr's "Ah
Nagasaki," appears as the cover article of the May 2008 Choral Journal, and
discusses how the act of creating and premiering a musical work can serve as a
gesture of reconciliation between cultures.
Wyers holds a D.M.A. in conducting from the University of Arizona, where she
studied with Maurice Skones, and minored in historical musicology with John
Brobeck. She earned a master's degree from Westminster Choir College, where she
founded the Greater Princeton Youth Chamber Orchestra, and a bachelor's degree
from UC Santa Cruz, where she founded the San Lorenzo Valley Community Chorus
and Orchestra.
Women's Honor Choir repertoire for the Seattle conference:
1. Be Like the Bird – Abbie Betinis,
5-part canon, optional whistling or flute,
www.abbiebetinis.com
2. The Rose – Joan Szymko,
SSAA with accordion,
Santa Barbara Music Publications
3. The Waking – Giselle Wyers,
SSAA and piano,
Manuscript (World Premiere)
4. The Famine – VIDA, arr. Matthew Culloton,
SSAA a cappella,
Santa Barbara Music Publishing
5. No Time – arr. Susan Brumfeld,
SSAA a cappella
6. Still I Rise – Rosephanye Powell,
SSAA and piano,
Rosephanyepowell.com